


Happy News

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Happiness Can't Be Arranged [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 09:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15726852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: Robin finds out Regina is pregnant with Oliver.





	Happy News

Robin smiles as the carriage pulls up the long path that leads to the Hunting Lodge, and he cranes his neck for a better look as they round the bend. It’s only been a week that he’s been away, but it feels like it’s been so much longer, and already he can tell that things have changed--and, though he always thinks that every season is his favorite, he’s positive that these are his favorite changes.

Some of the trees had lost their leaves entirely while the leaves of others have changed from green to golden with little hints of red, and the patch of yellow heliopsis that line the gravel pathway to the red-brick house are in full bloom. Surrounding the trees are red and orange cockscomb, and as they draw closer to the house, he can see long stems of goldenrod peeking up around the sparse bushes at the house’s entrance. Drawing in a long breath, he closes his eyes, smelling that distinctly fall scent, mingled with the faint smell of the Russian sage Mrs. Beakley planted in the garden behind the house to ward off little woodland creatures hoping to snack on the squashes, cauliflower, and savoy cabbages she’d planted for autumn meals.

When the carriage pulls up to the front entrance, Winston greets him and John hops out of the carriage to gather his bags and a feeling of  _home_ settles in his chest.

“We didn’t expect you until tomorrow,” Winston says as they walk slowly into the foyer of the house--and when a hall boy comes down to help John with the larger of the trunks, it strikes him how much the house has changed in the last several months.

“We were ahead of schedule,” Robin admits. “I just… couldn’t wait to be home.”

“The boys will be elated, and you’ll have to pretend to be surprised tomorrow,” Winston says, his voice dropping an octave. “They’ve planned something special for your homecoming.”

“I’m almost disappointed to ruin their plans.”

“Almost,” Winston repeats, smiling gently. “But not quite.”

“Not quite.”

“And everything at Sherwood was--”

“Just as its always been. I put in a few orders for some new farming equipment for the spring, moved around some money for new insulation for two of the farms, but I still don't see why  _I_ had to attend to it, or why I had to travel all the way there to manage it.”

“It is your role in the estate.”

Robin shrugs and nods--still, he thinks there was an ulterior motive for his father’s request of his presence at Sherwood, but he doesn’t quite know what that was. As soon as he arrived, everything became about the estate and its tenant farmers, and it’d taken two days for Richard to ask about how the boys were adjusting to life up north, and another day for him to ask about Regina. He’d gone along with it, spending most of his days in town and meeting with the land’s renters, figuring out their needs and trying to meet them in only a week’s time. It made the time back at Sherwood go quicker and it kept him busy, and it nearly distracted himself enough to not miss his family--another almost, but not quite.

“Things have run smoothly here,” Winston tells him. “Mrs. Potter’s in her glory training the new maids.”

Robin grins. “Is this the first time this house has had an actual budget?”

“The first that was necessary,” Winston says. “It’s nice to see the house so full and alive. I like the quiet life, but it was boring after the harvest. Made for a long winter.”

“You’ll let me know if you need anything else?”

“Of course.”

“Are the boys--”

“Out,” Winston says. “Maltilde took them out on a nature walk, as she called it. Something about falling leaves and hibernating frogs.” A grin pulls onto his lips. “Sleeping dragons, I think she called them.”

“All green, slimy things are dragons to my sons.”

Winston chuckles and nods. “I don’t remember learning about such things when I was their age.”

“Neither do I,” Robin admits. “By the time I was Henry’s age, it was all brimstone and fire, and about being a good Christian boy, unless it meant swindling some poor sap to increase my own wealth.” At that, Winston laughs and shakes his head. “But I like that the magic isn’t gone for them just yet.”

“The other day she had them outside talking about moon patterns and stars and teaching them about why the sky gets darker at night.” He grins. “They seemed to enjoy it. Roland painted a moon the next day.”

Robin grins. “I look forward to him telling me  _all_ about it.” Winston nods as Robin looks to the stairs. “Is Regina around or did she tag along with them?”

“Upstairs,” Winston tells him. “But--”

Robin doesn’t let him finish, instead thanking him as he jogs up the stairs, taking them two at a time. It seems odd that Regina would be in their room in the middle of the day. She wasn’t a napper, unless she wasn’t feeling well, and if she was spending time inside, it was usually spent in the library or the drawing room. Mostly, though, she followed the boys around or went into the village to volunteer help wherever she could. They took walks on the estate and rode horseback through the woods and into the orchard, sometimes spending a day lost outside. Regina liked to open up the house, and while the Harvest Ball was still the main event, it wasn’t uncommon for her to plan picnics and dinners, busying herself and the house staff with the preparations--and it seemed she was always planning something.

The hallway felt oddly still, and he noticed larger the trunk set down outside the door.

“Mrs. Locksley is occupied,” the hallboys explains. “John took some of your things to laundry, and the smaller trunk went along with him.”

“Ah--” he nods. “Occupied? Is she sick?”

The boy shrugs and Robin dismisses him of his post, promising he’ll make sure that no one goes in or out of the room. He waits until the hall boy rounds the corner before he reaches for the doorknob, and when he pushes the door open, he finds that Regina isn’t alone.

Doctor Hopper is there with her, packing a stethoscope into his bag as Regina fastens the buttons on the front of a nightdress. Her eyes widen with surprise when she looks up and spots him, and her smile is immediate--and then, it fades, her eyes shifting to the doctor near the hearth.

“Is everything alright?” he asks, keeping an eye on Doctor Hopper as he crosses the room to greet her properly. “Are  _you_ alright?”

“I am,” she nods as he hugs her to his side and presses a kiss to her forehead. “I missed you.”

“And I you,” he tells her, his eyes shifting momentarily as the doctor fastens the metal clip on the front of his bag. Doctors always made him feel a little unsettled, and though he liked Doctor Hopper well enough, he didn’t like that he was standing in his bedroom, obviously having just attended to his wife who claimed to be fine. “I’m just wondering why… uh…”

“Oh,” Regina cuts in, her eyes widening as she looks to him. “Robin, it’s--”

“I’ll be going,” Dr. Hopper says, collecting his bag as he scurries across the room, offering them each a tight smile. “I’ll see you soon, Regina.”

Regina nods and the doctor pulls the door close, and Robin’s brow arches, his stomach flopping with panic as he remembers all of the times doctors visited his bedchamber when he and Marian were married--and remembering how he was never allowed to be there for the examination, how he had to wait and hear her side of it after the doctor had gone, and how likely she’d given him the sugar-coated version to make things seem less dire than they were.

“Regina, are you sure everything’s alright?”

“Absolutely,” she tells him, her voice resolute. “Everything is… perfect, actually,” she says, her cheeks flushing a little as she looks down at herself momentarily, and biting her lip as she looks back to him. “I, um… I’m pregnant.”

For a moment, all he can do is stand there as her words swim around in his head--and as he processes them, a slow smile works its way onto his lips, and he can feel it shining through his eyes.

She laughs and her cheeks flush deeper. “It should be showing soon.”

“You’re… you’re sure of it?”

“Doctor Hopper just confirmed it. I’ve suspected for awhile.”

“But you didn’t say--”

She shakes her head. “I wanted to be sure.”

“You’re pregnant.”

Regina nods. “I am.”

He feels a burst of feeling explode within him--happiness and love, excitement and pride--and he sweeps her up in his his arms, spinning her around as her arms link around his neck and she laughs, the sound breaking apart the quiet stillness of the room.

“I don’t believe it,” he says, dizzy as he sets her down. “I… don’t believe--”

“Well, this can’t be  _that much_  of a surprise,” she tells him. “We’ve been trying.”

“I know, but it’s only been a couple of months. I thought--”

Again, she laughs. “Robin, it only takes  _one_ time.”

“I know, but it doesn’t always work that one time and I--”

“You know as well as I do that it wasn’t just one time.”

Nodding, he laughs as a smile twists onto his lips. “And you’re feeling alright?”

She nods. “Just the usual things. Nothing to worry about.”

He pulls her back to him, hugging her to him. “I am so happy, Regina. I’m so  _excited_. I--”

“Me, too.”

He pulls back, still holding her. “Do you need anything? Can I--”

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “I meant it. I am just fine.”

Leaning up on the tips of her toes, she kisses him--softly and sweetly--and her hand clasps the back of his neck as his hands settle on her hips. He can feel her smiling into the kiss and when she pulls back, a content sigh escapes him.

“I’m going to get dressed,” Regina says, her hands falling down his arms and forming around his hands. “What do you say to going on a walk with me?”

He nods--and then stops, his heart beating a little faster as his stomach sinks. “Should you--”

“Robin, I’m fine. The baby is fine. A walk won’t hurt either of us.” She grins and gives his hands a little squeeze. “The doctor said as much, and Mrs. Beakley told me a little light activity is good for me right now, and it's good for the baby, too.”

“But--”

“I am fine, Robin,” she cuts in, once more squeezing his hands. “In fact, I am better than fine.” A grin creeps onto her lips, and he can’t help but smile and nod. “And it’ll give us a chance to talk.”

“Talk--”

“Yes,” she says, nodding as she releases his hands. “We have so much to discuss.” Swallowing hard, he makes his best effort to silence the little voice at the back of his head that wonders if they’ve made a mistake--if the joy this news brings now will only cause sorrow on a later date. “Like what room would be best for a nursery and when to tell the boys, and… and maybe what we’ll call it.”

A grin edges onto his lips as she turns into her dressing room and once more, excitement bubbles up within him, pushing away any bad feelings and worries as he pictures a sweet little bundle, wrapped up in a blanket in Regina’s arms as he brings the boys in to meet their new sister--and it’s then that he realizes he’d like them to have a daughter. All of the sudden his thoughts are consumed with little dresses and hair ribbons, bonnets and little dolls. It makes sense to him, given they each have a son already and--

“Is it cold?”

“Hm?”

“Is it cold out,” Regina calls from the dressing room, peeking her head out of the open doorway. “I’m just wondering if a light sweater will do or--”

“Take the thicker one,” Robin tells her. “It’ll get chillier by the woods.”

“Alright,” she calls back.

He smiles as she disappears fully again into the dressing room, and once more, he finds himself lost in the fantasy of what’s to come. He pictures himself and Regina taking their children on a walk by the edge of the woods. He pictures Henry and Roland skipping through the fallen leaves, kicking them up at each other and laughing as he plays a game of bulldogs with them while Regina pushes a pram. He imagines settling for a picnic at the edge of the orchard. They’d have walnut apple sandwiches and drink cider, and the boys would climb trees while he and Regina laid on their backs, watching as the clouds passed, pointing out funny-shaped ones and taking turns trying to make the baby laugh.

“How’s this?”

He looks up, snapped back into the present moment by the sound of Regina’s voice, and when he looks up, he smiles. She’s standing in front of him wearing a light blue dress with little cream colored flowers on it and a matching ribbon just beneath the bust--and as he narrows his eyes, he thinks that maybe he can see the soft curve of her stomach forming beneath it. She’s wearing a dark blue sweater and holding onto a straw bonnet, twirling the cream colored ribbon between her fingers--and though she’s likely just warm from being dressed in warm clothes while inside, he can’t help but notice that she looks like she’s glowing.

“Hm?”

“How do I look? Am I dressed appropriately or--”

“You’re perfect.”

“Robin--”

Her cheeks flush a bit as he crosses the room toward her, gently pulling her in by the hip. “I love you,” he says as he draws her closer. “Have I told you that recently?”

She giggles. “Not today. In your last letter, you did.”

He grins. “Well, then I should say it again… to make up for lost time.” She giggles as he pecks her lips. “I love you.”

“So, I take it you’re happy with the news?”

“Ecstatic.”

“I am, too,” she admits, biting down on her lip as she looks up at him, her brown eyes looking so soft and warm. “And, since it’s been awhile since I’ve said it back… I love you, too.”

He kisses her again, and then pulls back, his hand finding hers and giving it a little tug as he leads her out of the room, ready for their walk.


End file.
